


Family

by Fandom_Trash_Goblin



Series: Stex drabbles [13]
Category: Starlight Express - Phillips/Stilgoe/Webber
Genre: And feral kids, They're all abandoned kids, found family is the shit, very feral
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 20:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30111429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Trash_Goblin/pseuds/Fandom_Trash_Goblin
Summary: Yeet. Sweet and angsty.
Relationships: The Rockies and Rusty
Series: Stex drabbles [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2122296
Kudos: 2





	Family

Tired. Rocky was tired as hell.

The boxcar liked to think he was strong, He had to be if he was going to lead his siblings and survive the scrapyard, but even he got tired. He wasn’t just tired, he was exhausted. There hadn’t been any food for days.

Despite safety and strength in numbers, there were many trains in the yard who were larger than them. Larger meant you were able to either use brute force to get food or intimidate someone into giving it to you. They weren’t able to do any of that.

He told his three siblings to sleep while he went in search of food. He’d been looking for hours. Nothing. It was well into the night at this point.

Leaning against a pile of garbage, Rocky sighed. He couldn’t do this all night. The 15-year-old kicked a rock, only to hear the cry of someone getting hit by it.  
  


Taken aback, Rocky called out, “Hello?”  


He braced himself to fight when he heard someone skating over. He relaxed when he saw it was just a young Trainling. A steamer at that. He was insanely small. 

“What’re you doin’ on my turf?” The small engine tried to make himself look bigger, puffing up his chest and making steam come out from his head.

Rocky tried not to laugh, “Little tiny to be tryin’ to fight, eh champ?”

The steamer seemed to take offense at that and he charged towards the boxcar. He didn’t do much, all he accomplished was punching Rocky’s kneecaps.

Rocky let the kid beat on him for a few minutes before pushing him away with his foot, “Okay, okay, what’s your name, kid?”

“None of your business!” The Trainling huffed, crossing his arms and looking at his wheels. He did that for a minute or so before mumbling, “Rusty.”

“Okay, _Rusty_ , where in Starlight are your parents?” Rocky asked. You didn’t come across many Trainlings in junkyards who actually had parents, but it was good to check.

“Don’t got none.” Rusty said, looking a little sad at the mention of such things.

“Brothers? Sisters? Anyone? You can’t have survived this long alone.” A head shake confirmed Rocky’s fears. Well, now he couldn’t just leave him.   
  


“You wanna...stay with me? I got two brothers and a sister.” Rocky figured he would regret this, but he wasn’t about to leave a kid alone who probably would starve if nobody helped.

“Can I trust you?” Rusty looked up. Rocky was stunned by how blue his eyes were underneath his messy brown hair.

“It’s up to you, kid. I can’t tell you whether or not to trust me.” Rocky shrugged. 

Rusty looked at him up and down, “...Okay.” 

“How old are you?” Rocky asked as they began skating towards where The Rockies made their home. He could find food tomorrow. 

“Seven.” Rusty yawned. 

“You tired?” Rocky raised a brow, if he himself was having a hard time staying awake then he could only imagine how difficult it was for a kid.

“No...” Rusty yawned once more.

“C’mere.” Rocky scooped up the small steamer, who struggled a bit before realizing that the older boxcar was warm and snuggled up to his chest. 

Cute. 

Rocky yawned himself and continued on. 

The moon was fully up by the time he found his way to their den. Sliding by the tarp and wriggling through the narrow pathway of junk, he found their sleeping area. It was deep within the scrap, with little to no odds of someone finding them.

Roxy woke up at his arrival, “Guys! Rocky’s back!” She shook her two brothers awake.

“Did you find food?” Rocco asked, rubbing his eyes.

“What the Midnight is that?” Rocket asked, staring at the steamer in his arms.

Roxy’s eyes narrowed at the red truck, “Rocky...”

Rocky set the small engine in their nest, trying not to wake him, “Shh.”

The green boxcar lowered her voice a little, “Why?”

“He didn’t have anyone and he’s clearly too weak to survive on his own!” Rocky whispered.

“You didn’t even get any food, did you?” Rocket groaned.

Rocky sighed at the blue train, “No, but I’ll find some tomorrow.”

“Do you have any idea how much he’s gonna drag us down? We’ll need extra food for him, not to mention coal!” Roxy growled.

“Listen here-“ Rocky snarled, about to defend his choice before Rocco cut in.

“Guys...” The yellow boxcar said in a hushed tone, motioning to the small engine. 

“How old is he and whats his name?” Roxy sighed, relenting.

“His name’s Rusty and he said he’s seven.” Rocky said, laying down and settling until their nest. He curled protectively around the new member of their family, trying to keep him warm.

“Fine. We can keep him.” Roxy huffed, laying down beside Rocky.

“Night.” Rocket yawned, snuggling up to Rocco. 

Rocky stayed awake a little longer than they did, looking at the small engine. This Rusty was something special...he could tell. 


End file.
